Dermatophytosis profile, epidemiology, virulence and susceptibility in the last twenty years : a literature review

Abstract

The present study aims to review of the last 20 years of literature, between 2000 and 2020, of the epidemiological studies on superficial and cutaneous mycoses caused by dermatophyte fungi, their etiological agents, as well as the susceptibility and resistance factors to the antifungals used for their treatment. The literature review was carried out in the online databases: PubMed, Scielo and Science Direct. The selected studies presented data on the prevalence of species, the profile of patients, the most affected sites of infection, the diagnostic method used and the susceptibility profile of some species of fungi in relation to the most used antifungals. The dermatophyte fungi species: Trichophyton rubrum, T. mentagrophytes, T. tonsurans, Microsporum canis e Epidermophyton floccosum were the most commonly found in cutaneous infections caused by fungi in several countries. The most prevalent sites of infection are skin, nail and hair. The antifungals tested against the most prevalent pathogen were ketoconazole, fluconazole, ciclopirox and terbinafine. The results obtained in this study point to Trichophyton rubrum as the most isolated species in skin infections caused by dermatophyte fungi in different regions of the world. Terbinafine, compared to most fungal isolates, was the drug that showed the greatest efficacy.